Life Changing Football

            It is the first time that I have heard about the homeless world cup that is why I conducted a research about it to be able to write this paper.  According to my research, the homeless world cup is a sporting event that brings together homeless people to play football. 

            I think that this is a great idea to address the issue of poverty in our country.  I often associate poverty with laziness.  I have this image of marginalized people as hopeless and bums.  And I am sure that I am not alone with these generalizations.   But with this homeless world cup, people will be enlightened with their image of poverty.  These guys are homeless and they just don’t sit at home and be bums.  They do something about their situation, which is really heartwarming.

            I think that the homeless world cup should be given more media attention because it is good to see something like this once in a while.  Through media exposure, they will definitely get the support of the Filipinos.  I believe that the government should also fund projects like this.  But it is sad to say that the government lacks funding when it comes to Philippine athletes.  The Philippine team needs all the support that they can get to be ale to train better and produce outstanding results. 

            I read a blog which was an interview with one of the coaches of the Philippine team.  His name is Ronald Patulin.  He had said lines that struck me.  “For Team Philippines this means more than football, this is our opportunity to voice the issue of homelessness which is ignored in the Philippines” and “Taking part in this event is the focus by which we can change lives through football”.  I can feel the dedication in these lines.  I like the way that they addressed issues in the Philippines that are ignored.  Most Filipinos would address these issues through rallies which harms the image of the Philippines.  Joining the homelss world cup and winning it will give pride to the Philippines.

            Media often portrays negative issues about this country, which is why Filipinos get hopeless about the situation.  Stories like these will definitely give back hope to the Filipinos.  These will make them realize that Philippines is not so bad after all.

Sources:

http://www.streetsoccerphilippines.com/

http://www.homelessworldcup.org/news/team-philippines-touch-down-in-rio

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Homeless World Cup By Justin Chua

First of all I am very proud with the organizers of this event because it really shows how we Filipinos wants to generously help each other but I’m not talking about just Filipinos but also the countries that have joined this spectacular event. Something striking about this club is that its aim is to cure poverty not only here but also in other countries. Knowing that the Philippines is one of the most countries with high level of poverty and yet this club has a very big dream of curing this “disease”. I wasn’t really in that talk during class but according to my research that there are qualifications on joining this team and not just anybody who knows how to play football can play. According to my research you must be aged 16 and above and must be HOMELESS, ENTERING DRUG REHAB or simply have a work of a paper boy. These qualifications seems weird for a football club that is trying to compete internationally but it just proves to show that this organization just wants to give every people a chance to show what they can do and most importantly help these players change their lives drastically. For me this club is very impressing even though I don’t really understand football but the fact that they want to help people is very touching and that in the future if I have gained a certain amount of wealth I might want to help our national team somehow.